L. Gomes/Pattison Media

By Laurice Gomes

Community

‘Off the streets and back into society’ How one man is changing lives one water bottle at a time

Jun 28, 2022 | 6:01 PM

CHILLIWACK — For almost five years, Brian Goldstone has mobilized the Chilliwack community to donate water to quench the thirst of anyone who needed it.

The retired RCMP officer and current CEO of Griffin Security said the idea came to him when he witnessed an elderly man passing out in Salish Park.

“At that time, we didn’t have any water fountains around or anything. I had to send someone to go get water for this gentleman,” Goldstone said. “And an ambulance came and everything else. He was probably in his late seventies, and he had just gone for a walk in the park in the roaring heat and wasn’t prepared for it.”

That’s when Goldstone came to the realization that the homeless population would be vulnerable to dehydration, especially during prolonged heat waves.

“So, we started on the internet, asking people to make donations,” he said. “People would bring in a case or they would phone us and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got a case of water for you guys.’”

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Goldstone said that with cases being donated at random, it added up, and the number of water bottles “skyrocketed” from there.

“Last year we went through about 60,000 bottles during that heat wave alone,” he remarked. “And we would not have made it through that heatwave if it hadn’t been for Nestlé—they donated a huge amount to the Salvation Army, which was shared with us.”

L. Gomes/Pattsion Media

This year, the need is going to be very similar, Goldstone predicts.

“I mean this weekend, the amount of water we went through—we had three times as much in the back and it’s all gone already,” he explained.

The beloved community advocate said his city is exemplary when it comes to charitable giving, and that people are always willing to lend a helping hand.

“Chilliwack is really good; the people here are generally willing to help,” he remarked. “There is a group that doesn’t like that we want to help the homeless, but most people want to make things better in Chilliwack.”

He emphasized that handing out water was an easy way of connecting with the community and establishing relationships.

“Doing these water drives is all to help build relationships with people because those relationships are what help them get off the streets and back into society. That’s my goal,” Goldstone said.

He calls it a “two-for-one”.

“One, it saves people’s lives,” he explained. “And it also saves our ambulance service from having to come out, our fire service from having to come out, the police from having to come out. We’re getting them before they get to that point, making sure everyone stays hydrated.”

There are currently 18 vehicles, all marked with Griffin logos, handing out water 24/7.

“Chilliwack has been really good to our company,” Goldstone said appreciatively. “We started off here with two guards and our downtown core was our very first contract. And when I first started this company, it was really to deal with the homeless situation. I started it for that purpose.”

For anyone looking to donate water bottles, the Griffin Security team can be reached at (604) 703-0888.